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Zoo Gardens

There are many wonderful plants here at the Honolulu
Zoo. In fact many might call our Zoo a botanical garden.
Some of the most resilient and lovely plants are native to
Hawaii or have a long history of specialized importance to
the Polynesian cultures.

For more comprehensive information about indigenous and
endemic plants of Hawaii do as we did, and consult any
publication by Mary Kawena Pukui, and Samuel H. Elbert; they are the
source for much of the following information.

Alahe‘e

Psydrax odoratum
Alahe‘e is a shrub or tree of dry and mesic forests. It
has clusters of white fragrant flowers. The leaves are
shiny green and glossy, even in the hottest and driest of
times. The trunk is white and the wood is strong. It was
used for o‘o or diggings sticks, carrying poles and house
construction.

Naio

Myoporum sandwicensis
Naio is a tree or shrub native to Hawaii. It is very
toughed drought and wind tolerant. It has a wide
elevational range. You find it on sand dunes at Polihale
or baking sands on Kauai all the way up the high dry sides
of mountains like Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea.The white fruit
is food for birds.

Na‘u or nanu

Gardenia brighamii
Na‘u is an endangered native Hawaiian gardenia. It was
once common in low dryland forests of Hawaii. Today there
are fewer than 30 na‘u trees in the wild. Na‘u is a single
petaled Gardenia that looks something like a tiare or
Tahitian gardenia. The fragrance of na‘u is unique and
distinct. Today there are fewer than 30 na‘u trees in the
wild. Happily it grows fairly well in gardens.
Horticulture, botanical gardens and private Gardeners and
hobbyists who care about native plants have helped to save
and perpetuate na‘u and other rare Hawaiian plants.

Lonomea, O‘ahu soapberry

Sapindus oahuensi
This tree is found naturally in dry to mesic forests of
the older main Hawaiian Islands of O‘ahu and Kaua‘i. It is
a handsome tree with a bold white trunk and dark green
linear leaves. The fruit is brown black and glossy with a
thin rind. It is a great food for birds, and their feeding
helps to spread the seeds, away from under the mother
tree. Inside is a rippled, irregular shaped seed. The thin
fruit pulp can be used for soap and the knobby black seed
is used for lei making.

Loulu

Pritchardia spp
Loulu are the only kind of palm native to Hawaii. All
other kinds of palms found here today were imported to
Hawaii by people. There are about 16 native species of
loulu or Pritchardia. Some are found only on one island or
even a single valley or ridge top. Some like Pritchardia
munroi from Molokai are down to a handful of individuals
in the wild. Happily, seeds were collected many years ago
and over 30 grow in botanical gardens today. Hawaiians
used loulu palm fronds for thatching and for fine hat
making. The seeds or hawane are edible and taste something
like young coconut. Today grazing animals impact loulu and
their seedlings and rats eat the seeds before fall to the
ground and grow.

‘A‘Ali‘i

Dodonaea viscosa
A‘ali‘i can be a shrub, or with time, a small to medium
sized tree. It is a very tough, drought tolerant and hardy
native plant. It has a broad elevation range in dry
climates. It is found on sand dunes, in dry land forests
and all the way to alpine conditions on our high dry sides
of the mountains. The Hawaiian name refers to its royal
attributes and tough nature. This is a favored plant for
lei makers. The seed capsules are very decorative and come
in a range of colors red pink yellow tan and green. The
wood is tough and durable it was used for o‘o or farmers
digging sticks and for house beams and carrying poles. Dye
for kapa was also made from ‘a‘ali‘i.

Munroidendron Racemosum

Munroidendron is a rare Hawaiian tree. It has a unique
flower structure called a raceme with many small yellow
flowers adorning the long silver flowering spike that
hangs down. It has large silvery undersided leaves. It is
found naturally only on Kauai and the whole genus is
endemic to Hawaii.

‘Ohia Lehua

Metrosideros polymorpha
‘Ohi‘a lehua is a prime rainforest tree in Hawaii. It
provides food, perching and nesting habitat and shelter
for all kinds of Hawaiian plants and animals. It also
grows in wet coastal areas, on new lava flows, in high
elevation bogs and in many diverse well-watered habitats.
The flowers are usually red and full of nectar and pollen
to attract and nurture native Hawaiian birds and insects.
Besides red, the flowers also come in shades of yellow,
orange, salmon, and a mysterious legendary white flowered
form. The leaves also come in many shapes colors sizes and
textures. The new leaf buds are called "liko" and these
can be yet another color and texture. Gardeners and
landscape designers are finding out that they can grow
‘ohi‘a lehua. It makes a strikingly beautiful shrub or
tree in the garden. Look at how well they grow here and
take this knowledge home with you. One key to growing
‘ohi‘a lehua is to water the plants every day.

Kou, Smooth leafed Kou

Cordia subcordata
For years it was believed that kou was carried here
purposely by the ancient Hawaiians and was thus a "canoe"
plant. Recent fossil evidence, found by archeologists in
coralline sink holes on Kaua‘i show that it is also a
native Hawaiian plant – it got here on its own. (Having
valuable wood, medicinal, dye and lei making uses, the
Hawaiians carried kou seeds here as well, on their great
voyaging canoes). Kou is a perfect tree for leeward
coastal areas like Waikiki. It can grow in pure sand and
salt water, but it does better with fertile soil and fresh
water. It has large green slightly drooping leaves. It
forms a fairly dense rounded canopy. The leaves make great
animal food and excellent mulch.

Hala

Pandanus odoratissimus
Hala is both a native Hawaiian tree and a "canoe plant"
carried here by the ancient Polynesians on their voyages
of discovery and colonization. It has many uses. It is a
tough and durable tree that can take strong salty winds
and drink pure salt water if it has to. The leaves of hala
are very tough and durable. Fine woven and plaited items
that will last for years are made from the lau hala (leaf
= lau) most lauhala have spines on the edges of the
leaves. The ripe fruit (pu hala) has a small bit on the
tip that is edible. Nene like this fruit too. There are Pu
hala in other parts of the world that are large and very
edible. One species provides the main starch in parts of
New Guinea. Many islands of the pacific also have large
edible fruited species of Pandanus.

Koki‘o Ke‘o Ke‘o, native white fragrant Hibiscus

Hibiscus immaculatus Molokai white hibiscus
The Molokai white hibiscus is nearly pure white. It has
glossy light green leaves, and tends to grow tall and
straight. It has hints of lemon yellow in the stamina
column and pistils. It has a subtle yet lovely perfume.
The native Hawaiian white hibiscus from Oahu, Kauai and
Molokai are the only fragrant hibiscus in the world. This
is a Federally listed endangered species. It almost went
extinct in the wild on Moloka‘i, largely due to over
grazing by introduced animals like pig, goats and deer as
well as competition from weeds and destruction by
wildfire.

Naupaka Kuahiwi

Scaevola gaudichaudii
Naupaka kuahiwi or Mountain Naupaka has half flowers and
tells the story of a failed romance. This is the mountain
species.There is also a more common indigenous species of
Naupaka that is fairly common at coastal areas of Hawaii
today. This is called Naupaka kahakai (naupaka by the sea)

Kulu‘i

Nototrichium sandwicensis
This is a silvery leaved shrub of the lowland dry forests
of Hawai‘i, often growing near the coast. The leaves are
silvery, especially on the undersides and the flowers are
fuzzy and silvery too.

Lama, Hawaiian Ebony, Native persimmon

Diospyros sandwicensis
Lama is a tree of the dryland forest. It has a dark,
nearly black trunk, small leaves that have pink or red
liko when young, and small (olive sized) persimmon like
fruit. Inside are from one to five seeds.

Ma‘o, Hawaiian cotton

Gossypium tomentosum
Mao has a clear yellow blossom and silvery kukui or maple
shaped leaves. The seeds have short brown wooly hairs and
have a tan fuzzy look (commercial cotton looks life puffy
Johnson cotton balls). Ma‘o was used for medicine and for
a prized green kapa dye. This is a plant of harsh coastal
areas and lowland dry forests. We rarely see it in the
Wild today because these are have been most heavily
damaged, altered and changed by the activities of people.

Pohinahina, polinalina, kolokolo kahakai, Beach Vitex

Vitex ovalifolium
Pohinahina is a lovely slivery leafed crawling vine or
groundcover. It has nice lavender flowers. The foliage has
a spicy smell when crushed or stepped on. It is very tough
and grows well with little water once established in the
ground. It is ideal for coastal gardens, for xeriscaping
(wise water gardening) and it also does well in most
typical gardens if given full sunlight to grow in.

‘Ilima Papa

Sida fallax
‘Ilima is one of the favorite food plants of nene. It has
13.3% crude protein in the buds and leaves and is a
nutritious food for nene and their goslings Look closely
at ‘ilima and you will see that it looks like a miniature,
golden yellow hibiscus. It is the official lei flower of
the island of O‘ahu and takes about 1000 of the fragile
blossoms to make one strand of this special lei. The
ancient Hawaiians used ilima for medicine (buds were taken
as a mild easy to take laxative for keiki), fiber, thirst
quenching and as a source of moisture in dry areas. Nene
like it for this reason too.

Ko‘o Loa ‘Ula, Red ‘ilima

Abutilon menziesii
This is a federally listed rare and endangered species,
largely due to habitat alteration and destruction. Yet, it
is fairly easy to grow in gardens. We have a few plantings
of it at the Honolulu zoo. Look around for this silvery
leafed shrub with the bright red, pinkish or even
sometimes yellow blossoms. Hibiscus leaves and flowers are
a good, nutritious food for nene and other birds.

‘Akia

Wikstroemia uva-ursi
‘Akia is a low ground hugging, coastal plant and some
species are found in dry and wet forests. This is one of
the first native Hawaiian plants that became popular in
landscapes. It is an ideal xeriscape plant. It has silvery
oval leaves, yellow four parted flowers and orange
berries. ‘Akia is also called fish poison plant. It has a
toxin in its twigs and bark that affects cold-blooded
animals like fish. Akia is also a fiber plant. Cordage and
baskets were made from the fibrous bark. Lei makers like
to use the flowering and fruiting twigs in their
creations.

Ma‘o Hau Hele, Rock’s Kauai Hibiscus

Hibiscus rockii / H. calyphyllus
This native yellow hibiscus is from Kauai. There is some
doubt as to its true origin as there are no documented
wild collections of the plant. All known cultivations are
from garden stock. If it is native to Hawaii the name is
ma‘o hau hele. Some say it is an old introduction from
Africa, that has long been cultivated on Kaua‘i.

Kupukupu, Kupukupu fern

Nephrolepis exaltata
This pretty mini sword fern is native to Hawaii. It makes
a nice groundcover and is used for lei making.

Moa

Psilotum nudum
Moa is a primitive, fern like plant. To the Hawaiians the
wiry stems looked like chicken feet and thus the name moa
(chicken). The moa stems can grow to about a foot high and
as wide or wider. They are green and wiry. The spores are
yellow and sometimes the stems turn yellow orange in
color. Primitive plants like this don’t make seeds to grow
new plants from. They spread by spores. The spores of moa
are yellow. These moa spores were used like talcum powder
in old Hawaii --to prevent chafing under the malo. The
stem was brewed into a tea and had cathartic properties.
Moa is an indigenous Hawaiian plant. It is also found
growing naturally elsewhere all over the tropics. It grows
in dry and moist environments and will grow on the ground,
amidst rocks, on trees, and in stone walls. The roots of
moa have a cooperative, symbiotic fungus that helps them
grow. (Orchids do this also, and so do many forest trees
and plants).

Ki, Ti, la‘i

Cordyline terminalis
Ki, the Ti plant, grows abundantly, cultivated and wild,
throughout the tropical Pacific and Southeast Asia. It is
common from sea level in the lower wetlands, up to the
4,000 foot elevation. Ti is found in shady moist gardens,
as a landscaping background plant or as a hedge. The
people of Hawai‘i plant it around their homes and churches
for good luck. The ti's versatile leaves have many uses,
including: as wrappings for offerings; for roof thatching;
as fly whisks or fans; wrappings for cool food storage,
preservation and protection; for wrapping of food to be
cooked, especially for laulau; as plates or cups; as
fishing lures on hukilau nets; as wearing apparel, such as
rain capes, sandals and as hula skirts called pa‘u; and,
more recently, as feed for cattle and horses. From Canoe
Plants of Ancient Hawaii, www.canoeplants.com/ki.html

Wauke, paper mulberry

Broussonetia papyrifera
This useful plant will become a tree with time. Ancient
Polynesians carried it all over Oceania, including Hawaii.
There are many fiber plants that bark cloth can be made
from and wauke is the premiere plant for Polynesians.

Noni (variegated)

Morinda citrifolia
Polynesian introduction, native to SE Asia. Nene like to
eat the ripe fruit of noni. Noni fruit is a famine food
for people and was used for medicine and kapa dye. Noni is
a pretty plant with large bold glossy green leaves that
are arranged in an opposite pattern on the stem. The
flowers are tiny and white and look like a mini tiare. A
group of flowers fuse into a fruit that is white when
young, and then deep translucent pale yellow when ripe.
Ripe fruit pulp of noni is really hauna. You would have to
be starving to eat this stuff!

Red Leaf Hau

Hibiscus tiliaceus
Hau has a nutritious leaf and flower. It makes excellent
mulch and was favored for old Hawaiian Lo‘i kalo (taro
patches) The Hawaiians had many many uses for hau: buds
are medicinal and were taken as an aid to childbirth, as
well as a laxative. The leaves make great desert plates at
an elegant luau (and you can compost them into the garden
when the feast is pau). The wood is soft lightweight and
easily carved. Net floats, ama or canoe outriggers,
puppets and various fishing tools were made from hau. The
bark is stringy and fibrous and was used for lashing and
cordage. Hau flowers can tell you what time of day it is:
The yellow, hibiscus like flowers of hau open as a clear
yellow in the morning. By midday they turn orange and at
the end of the day they are red. The red flowers drop to
the ground in a beautiful display the next morning.

Kukui, Candle nut tree

Aleurites moluccana
The kukui is the official tree of the state of Hawaii. It
is also called the "candle nut tree". This valuable and
useful shade tree was carried to Hawaii by the ancient
Polynesians, and all over Polynesia as well Light, food,
food seasoning (inamona), medicine and kapa dye are all
made from parts of the kukui tree. Kukui is symbolic of
learning and enlightenment.

Milo

Thespesia populnea
Milo is a shade tree that thrives in low, hot dry coastal
areas. The ancient seafaring Polynesians made sure to pack
some milo seeds on their voyages of discovery and
colonization. Medicine, dye, flowers for lei making, and
valuable wood all come from Milo. The leaves make good
food for grazing animals and make good compost for your
garden.

‘Ape

Alocasia maccorrhiza
Ape is a famine food. You must boil it and change the
water many times to render the calcium oxalate crystals in
the leaves and stem edible and digestible for people. The
leaves make a great umbrella when you are out in the
rainforest.

Hala Pepe

Pleomele spp
Hala pepe is a fairly rare native Hawaiian tree of dryland
and mesic forests. It looks something like a ti leaf plant
or a money tree.

Ho‘awa, ha‘awa

Pittosporum spp.
Hawaii has several species of native Pittosporum, as well
as some introduced ones. Native Ho’awa are becoming quite
popular in landscaping. They are a small to medium sized
tree that grows slowly. This is an attribute in many
gardens. The leaves are paddle shaped and have different
colors and textures. The flowers are small white and
fragrant and are borne in clusters, nestled in amidst the
leaves. The fruit is a woody pod that splits open,
revealing orange pulp and black seeds. Ho‘awa has oily
seeds that are a food for ‘Alala, (Corvus Hawaiiensis) the
highly endangered Hawaiian crow. The outer layer of the
fruit valve was used medicinally, pounded up and used to
heal sores. It was also used for caulking canoes. There
are ten endemic and two naturalized species of Pittosporum

Nene

Nene are a goose of the grasslands. Rich grasses are one
of their favorite foods. They eat native Hawaiian grasses
and will also forage on the more tender of alien grasses
and weeds.

Pili Grass

Heteropogon contortus
Pili grass is a favorite nene food, especially when it is
young and succulent. It was used as thatch for "grass
shacks". Pili is an indigenous grass. It is found
naturally in Hawaii and in many other places including
North America, Australia and Polynesia. It is also called
"Tangle head". The seeds are sharp and awn shaped and they
are borne on long filaments that become tangled up with
each other. When you plant the seeds and add water, watch
what happens. The filaments will tangle up with each
other, twist and contort themselves and actually drill the
awn shaped seed into the soil. The scientific species name
"contortus" refers to this amazing phenomenon. You also
don’t want to carry pili grass seeds in your pants pocket;
they will contort themselves and drill into your skin!
Pili is being grown in fields, bundled into bales, and
helicoptered over to the island of Kaho‘olawe to help
restore native forest and re-vegetate the island.

Kawelu, Emeloa, or love grass

Eragrostis variabilis
This native Hawaiian bunch grass lives in the lowlands,
dry forest and along steep pali (cliffs) where alien
grazing animals like goats cannot reach them. Like the
nene, this species of grass was formerly much more
widespread. Kawelu is an excellent food for nene. It is an
attractive clump forming grass with golden –tan seed
heads. It was once common in low dryland forests of Hawaii

Iliau

Wilkesia gymnoxiphium
Hawaii as many highly evolved and specialized endemic
kinds of plants in the daisy family. Possibly from a
single immigrant, weedy plant called a tar weed that grows
in Baja California, evolved silverswords green swords,
na‘e na‘e, ko‘o ko‘o lau and the iliau of Kauai. Iliau is
found naturally only on Kauai. You can visit the Iliau
Nature Loop on your way up to Koke‘e state park on Kauai.
This is one of the few places it grows in abundance.
Gardeners have recently figured out how to grow it. Like
their "cousins" the silverswords, iliau many be
monocarpic, that is the plant flowers once and then dies.
The plants don’t always do this, some can flower and set
seed and still keep on living. This kind of variability
increases the survivorship of the species. They usually
flower in May and June.

Indian Sandalwood

Santalum album
This is the sandalwood of trade. Everything from incense
to fine furniture to perfume is made from the fragrant
heartwood of mature trees. There are several native
Hawaiian sandalwood species, still found in forests today.
They are tricky and difficult to grow in cultivation. The
Indian species, Santalum album grows fairly easily in
Hawaii and there are plantations of it in India. There are
other Santalum species in Bali, Indonesia and Australia.
Hawaii was named "the sandalwood mountain" by people in
China and is prized by people all over the world.
Sandalwood fruit are edible for birds and for people.

Red Bottle Brush

Callistemon
citrinus
This is an alien tree, native to Australia but it is not a
bad pest in most parts of Hawaii. It is a bird watchers
delight when in flower. Many kinds of birds like to sip
nectar from the bright red bottle brush shaped flowers.

Terminalia sp. (Tropical Almond)

Naturally widespread in subtropical and tropical zones of
Indian and Pacific Oceans and planted extensively
throughout the tropics. It grows into a large tree 80–130
feet tall. Associated with coastal vegetation, especially
strandline communities and beach forests including rocky
shores and edges of mangrove swamps.